


Trouble in Paradise

by SarkyFancyPants



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Mystery Character(s), Pining, The Handsome Jackpot, borderlands - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:22:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23778346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarkyFancyPants/pseuds/SarkyFancyPants
Summary: Handsome Jack invites his henchman Pip to accompany him to the Handsome Jackpot Casino to be his witness of its grand opening to the public. But what is a great, opulent gathering without an uninvited guest trying to take advantage of the occasion? It is in Pip’s hands to ensure nothing gets too out of hand as he tries his best to enjoy himself at the same time.
Relationships: Canon/OC, Canon/Original Character - Relationship





	1. “You’re cordially invited”

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a Borderlands Alternate Universe that involves original characters within the series. This takes place in the canon story just with slight modifications to fit in the AU.

Lounging across one of the sofas in Handsome Jack's office was Pip, with legs stretched out and arms crossed, flinched as he was disturbed from nearly slipping into a deep, restful nap, not expecting to feel a pamphlet drop on his lap. His tail flicked in annoyance as he groaned and rubbed his face to perk himself up, squinting from the bright light of the lamp above that was hurting his eyes. 

It was a slow and uneventful day, just barely past noon, at least according to what the clocks around Helios indicated despite there being no natural light to be really sure, and the short, red-haired man wished he had something interesting to do that day as the lack of action only made him extremely exhausted out of boredom that just as soon as he had a chance to rest, he was so rudely interrupted by the blasted piece of paper. 

He clutched the folded sheets between his claws, flipping it around, giving a quick read through the pages under his squinting frown. Peering up, there was Jack, leaning over the back of the black leather seat with one hand on his hips. He had that smug smile he would always carry around all the time, anticipating a reaction from his loyal henchman. 

"The hell is this?" the red-haired man grunted in a husky tone. 

Jack rolled his eyes letting out a disappointed sigh, snatching the piece of paper from Pip's hands and waving it by the corner. "It is a pamphlet…it has words in it and you read them." 

"I can _see_ it is a bloody pamphlet, ya _poxbottle_." Pip hissed through clenched teeth. "What I mean is, why are ya showin' this to me?" 

Jack waltzed around the couch humming cheerfully and plopped down next to Pip, just seconds as the red-haired man coiled quickly before getting his legs squeezed under the CEO’s weight. He proceeded to unfold the pamphlet, extending his arms forward to show the full picture printed on it. The picture showed a large diamond shaped structure floating in the middle of space, situated between two raging black holes. 

Pip's eyes darted around looking at every detail and reading small bits of text with a scowl imprinted on his face. 

"The Handsome Jackpot?" 

"It's a casino, baby!" Jack exclaimed giving Pip a harsh pat on the back making the poor man cough up a pained wheeze. "It's been in the works for quite a while and it's finally ready for its grand opening! People of all places have been itching to start spending their life savings to the very last cent there in false hopes of winning a lifetime of riches and prizes and I can't wait to deliver!" 

"Ya woke me up for this?" Pip slowly turned his head at Jack blatantly unamused. “Ya want me to clap or somethin’?”

“Pff ohoh, _clap_ . You’re very funny.”Jack chuckled softly holding Pip by the arm, shaking him a little with a firm squeeze. “Listen here, little man. There’s going to be a big event at the casino tomorrow. A lot of very important people are going to be there and it is crucial that I welcome them all.”  
  
The entire time, the red-haired man sighed and nodded his head, a leg crossed over his knee wiggled impatiently along with the tip of his tail, arms spread, resting on the back of the seat. He kept squirming and shifting around positions to keep himself from dozing off listening to the CEO's speech. 

"Now…" Jack continued. "Where the rich folks flock around, leeches will definitely wanna latch onto the big fish's belly. Bandits, assassins, jealous competition, who knows. Of course the casino's security system is impeccably accurate since _I_ designed it, but I still need a trusty little henchman to watch my back while I deal with the guests. Just in case y’know?" He grinned wrapping an arm over Pip's shoulders who had already leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands dragging down his face. 

Pip glanced at Jack, eyelids pulled down by the tip of his claws. "Guess I don't have a choice, do I?" He muttered.

Jack leaned pretty close to the red-haired man’s face looking deeply into his bright, green eyes. "It's in your contract." He purred.

Puffing out a breath with resignation, Pip stood up from his seat, taking his hands to his hips with his tail tensing from the base and curling at the middle, stretching it forward with a groan accompanied with the soft sound of crackling from his joints. He stood quietly for a moment with his head hanging down while tapping his foot a few times. 

"Fine…" He mumbled. "This better be worth it."

"It'll be fun, you'll see! I know you’ve been bored outta your little head, so what was your good ol’ friend Handsome Jack to do than to offer some entertainment, huh?" Jack stood up and patted Pip's head. "AND! After all that is done, if the environment is too much for you to handle, we’re definitely _not_ setting foot back in there. You and I have more important matters to attend to back on Pandora after all."

Pip immediately shook his head, tilting his neck back to face up at Jack, his eyebrows furrowed with an incredulous look. “Yer just gonna leave the casino runnin’ by itself?”

“I’ve got people to take care of it, don’t you worry.”

“Of course ya do…” Pip grumbled under his breath.

The CEO chuckled, placing an arm around the red-haired man’s broad back, pulling him close in a rather forced friendly side-hug. It wasn’t much of an affectionate gesture, but another display of Jack’s usual disregard of other people’s boundaries. Pip had grown used to such treatment for the time he had spent working for him and the company, so much that it didn’t bother him all that much, or at least he learned to tolerate it.

All he would do was roll his eyes and sigh.

Later that evening, back at his headquarters, Pip lie down on his bed looking up at the ceiling, tail hanging over the edge of the mattress, tapping idly on the floor. Even with the blinds down, his room was still dimly illuminated by the lights of the passing ships hovering by his window from within the station, with large screens with flashing ads and speakers blaring commercials with maddening catchy melodies playing on loop over and over to the point that one could absentmindedly sing along the moment the first note begins to play. 

Pip was anxious by the thought of being around a lot of snobby people. Hoards of bandits? Easy and even fun to deal with. They were all disorganized, lawless maniacs after all. But rich folks? Nothing was more staggering than having to keep it cool around entitled people in fancy suits. 

On the other hand, the possibility of somebody suddenly crashing the party was an enticing thought and the very thing Pip would cling on to make going to the casino a much more bearable task. At some point he even considered sending a friendly invite to whatever bandit clans that would daring enough to venture into space to find and loot such valuable secret space station full of goodies.

But the thought was too far fetched, if not stupid. A mere fantasy. Pip knew that as skilled as he was filtering through broadcast security systems, Hyperion’s was still well packed with layer after layer of firewalls and with his identity now part of the company’s database, it would make things a little too suspicious. Not worth the risk.

His mind then focused on Jack and the fact that he was going to be forced to hang around close to him during the entire ordeal. Pip wasn’t sure if this was relieving or or a lot more irritating knowing that he was going to serve as Handsome Jack’s little accessory throughout the event. Despite working for him, a lot of times he would do it far away from him, patrolling and hunting down bandits left and right at the borderlands. It was only during important meetings when he was required to spend more time around the CEO so Pip knew very well what was to come for him.

Still, Pip couldn’t deny it. He enjoyed those days he had to be around Handsome Jack mainly because of the colorful conversations they would have and how impressive it was that they would find common ground more frequently than he would have ever believed. Even the ridiculous pet names were more appreciated than they were unpleasant as time went by. It made him a little angry to think that maybe Jack's charm was winning him over, something he tried so hard to avoid. To think he was making friends with a corporate monster left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Maybe this trip won’t be too bad after all…” The red-haired man mumbled under his breath trying to hype himself up although with not much of a convincing tone in his own statement. Mere empty words with little hope.

His bright green eyes began to close as his eyelids grew heavier as the minutes passed, his mind continued to wander in circles until sleep finally caught up to him.

* * *

_Wake up_

A deep, robotic voice accompanied by a buzzing snapped Pip awake. His eyes shifted around, blinking rapidly as they got accustomed to the dull light around him.

_Wake up_

The disembodied voice repeated along with the continuous buzzing as the red-haired man slowly came to, taking in a deep breath as a groan escaped from his lips while squirming under his bedsheets. Rubbing his eyes, he peeked at the digital clock on the shelf right next to his pillow through long, red strands of hair.

Five thirty in the morning.

Pip frowned, turning back around and sitting up hunched over for a few seconds before burying his face in his palms and letting out a groggy whine, head full of noise from the robotic voice which continued to repeat its message. He wished he had more time to sleep as he barely felt the night pass.

“Rise and shine, cupcake!” Handsome Jack’s voice chimed in through the speakers finally making the alarm voice to cease its repetitive command. “Hope ya slept well because today is our great day!”

“Why so damn early?” Pip grumbled. “I expected this to be a nighttime event.”

“Pfft, that stuff doesn't matter where there isn’t even any sunlight, silly!” Jack laughed. “Now get ready, put on your best uniform, and make your way down to the station. You have one hour. I’ll be waiting.”

The call ended abruptly just as it started and the room finally went silent. Pip sighed dragging his hands down his face and glaring at his uniform left draped over the chair next to his bed. He huffed, stretching his body, arms folded with his elbows pushing back and dropping them down on his lap.

“It’s showtime...”


	2. “Once you’re here”

The journey didn’t take too long. Jack’s luxurious private spaceship travelling swiftly at hyperspeed made the trajectory from Helios to the casino feel as if the distance between the two locations was merely just a few minutes away, an hour max. Handsome Jack and Pip were conversing, sitting side by side on bulky, cushioned leather seats facing a wide window with an impeccable view into the majestic diamond shaped structure and endless sea of stars that surrounded them, as they rehearsed the CEO’s plan to make the guests’ arrival and stay as welcoming and alluring as possible.

Pip swayed with his seat playfully as a way to keep better focus on Jack’s words as his eyes kept getting caught on the marvellous sight of outer space and the colossal black holes creating a mesmerizing yet terrifying spectacle. Jack lowered his voice as he was speaking until he kept quiet for a moment as he noticed his henchman’s wandering eyes, lost in deep thought, and followed his sight out the window with a smirk drawing on his lips with amusement.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” 

Jack’s smooth voice wormed its way into Pip’s head, breaking him out of his hypnotized state, making his ears twitch as he stared at him wide eyed. 

“Huh? Wha-?” 

“I was speaking to you, but apparently you’re much more interested on gawking at the gaping space-holes.” Jack raised an eyebrow at Pip narrowing his eyes with a playful smile. “I don’t blame you though. This isn’t something you see every day. Better indulge in it as much as you can.”

Pip looked at the CEO with slight confusion, intrigued yet cautious at the way he spoke so softly, much differently to what he normally would. It was rare for Jack to sound so genuine it somehow unnerved him while it also made him feel a little less alienated. Either way he was right about one thing; spending so much time on Pandora made Pip long for different sights, it almost made him forget about his current duty.

He nodded letting out an affirmative hum, lips parted as he was about to respond, but before he could say anything, in a flash, hundreds of other ships of different shapes and sizes began to appear and scatter around the place. 

As more ships arrived one by one closing in to their position, Jack tapped his feet and clapped excitedly. “Oh look at that! Wow, that’s a lot of people ready to give their money to me. How wonderful!” He said rubbing his hands, unable to contain a joyful giggle. “Like moths to a flame.”

Pip sunk in his seat letting out a disheartened sight. “ _Way to ruin the moment…_ ” He thought to himself.

A loud rumble shook the entire ship as a powerful beam emerged from the structure, pulling them closer to the landing station with the rest of the guest ships. Jack stood up from his seat and beckoned at Pip, who followed behind, pacing along with his hands on his hips, tail waving with every wobbly step he took as the entire floor vibrated under his feet. 

Looking out the window as he passed by, Pip observed as guests, pushing their way outwards from the passenger ships, were being escorted by robotic staff, each one of them scanning every person individually. Shock hit him as some of the robots flashed a red light above their heads causing some guests react with baffled surprise when they were selectively picked and escorted, or better put, dragged away from their groups. As intrigued as he was, Pip was unable to see any farther beyond from what his eyes could reach despite his efforts on craning his neck to get a better view.

“Hah! The security bots already caught some broke charlatans!” Handsome Jack cackled pointing out the window. “That didn’t take long.”

“What’s gonna happen to them?” Pip inquired.

“Don’t worry about it, pumpkin. Right now it’s just you and me, most importantly _me_ , welcoming all these poor chumps into the casino.” Jack tugged Pip close to him by the front plate of his armor as he tidied the bangs off of his forehead and gently cupped his face, giving him a little pat on the cheek. “Now give me your best scary face.”

Pip’s tail flicked, he crossed his arms and glared up at Jack lowering his brow in a genuinely miffed frown, scrunched up his nose and pushed his jaw forward with a pout.

“Ooh, terrifying!” Jack muttered in an amused, growly tone. “Well, let’s get going, cupcake!”

* * *

Inside the casino, bright lights and led signs illuminated the hallways with such intensity it would make a blind man squint. Bumpy jazz music played through the speakers with a cheery, excitable energy to keep anyone motivated to spend hours of addictive entertainment indulging in the luxuries presented at every corner of the casino. Pip examined his surroundings with such marvel in his eyes that made him feel like a child walking into an amusement park. He lifted his head to catch the pleasing aromas that filled the air, anticipating to soon feel the intoxicating essence of cigar smoke with every whiff. It all seemed magnificent except for one thing; the towering statues of Jack standing on each side of a tall gateway, with arms crossed and chin up in all of their golden glory.

Pip shuddered as he caught a glimpse of one of the imposing pieces of art glaring down at him with Jack’s iconic pretentious smirk.

“What’s with all the…artwork?”

“You like it? Pretty cool, right?” Jack chuckled. “I commissioned plenty of these for people to admire everywhere, you’ll see. Gotta get the point across to these poor fools so they don’t forget who owns their lives from now on.”

“Well that’s unnervin’.” Pip spoke under his breath. 

“Greetings, Handsome Jack, Sir, and err…strange Monkey-Person!” A robot approached them waving its hands gleefully and courteously bowed before the CEO and the very irked red-haired man. “Sir, the guests are all ready to enter the casino. We await your order!”

“No more time to waste then! Let them in!” Jack ordered snapping his fingers at the bot, which bowed a second time and hurried on its way disappearing in the distance as it took a turn around a corner at the end of the hallway.

As they waited, Jack directed Pip to keep walking forward through the room, stopping right before a lever protruding from the gaping mouth of a grotesque golden replica of proprietor's iconic mask. The red-haired man made a face at such sight, quickly averting his eyes up to an enormous slot machine taking up space of what would be yet another gateway to the main attractions within. 

The suspense was too great as the two men stood by eachother preparing for the guests to make their way into the casino. Pip could sense the rumbling of the thousands of feet rushin impatiently closer and closer to them that it made the thin, blue fur of his tail fluff up. With his head up and arms folded behind his back, he swallowed hard as he tried to maintain his breath steady so Jack wouldn’t notice the discomfort building up in him.

The crowd swarmed through the gate accompanied by loud amused chattering, beams of light flashing on the sides, and the jazz music suddenly booming louder as golden confetti rained upon them.

“Welcome, welcome everyone, to the best casino there’s ever been on this side of Junpai-7, The Handsome Jackpot!” Jack stepped forward with arms wide open wide and gesturing in a theatrical manner as the crowd roared in waves of applause.

While Jack gave his welcoming speech, Pip observed from behind him at the people in front of him one by one with attention. His keen sight caught on an unusual hooded figure greatly contrasting the cheering patrons all dressed in seemingly expensive suits and dresses. His green eyes met with a pair of piercing, glowing red eyes staring straight back at him from its shrouded visage before slowly walking away and disappearing.

“...and now, without further ado, let’s get this party started! ”

Pip’s attention was drawn back on Jack. He hummed, slightly lowering his head. 

“But first, I will need a volunteer to crank this lever that will not only open the gates to Paradise; it will also determine whether you’re gonna be a lucky winner, or a very unlucky chump.” Jack chuckled.

Everyone in the crowd raised their hands up waving them around, eager to be picked while Handsome Jack waltzed around humming with narrowed eyes and a finger up until he finally did a swift spin and pointed at Pip. 

"You!" 

"Wait wha?" The red-haired man flinched staring with eyes wide open. " _Why me_?" He mouthed through clenched teeth. 

"You look like a real winner! Just don’t let that get over your head in case you jinx it am I right hahah!" Jack held Pip by the shoulder spinning him around with his back to the laughing audience. "Besides, you’re already standing here so _you_ give it a go, m’kay?” He whispered.

“Come on! Spin the wheel!” A woman in the audience shouted.

“Yeah! Spin, spin, spin!” A man pumped his arms up in the air vigorously causing the whole crowd to follow his lead by chanting in unison as Pip grimaced glaring at the grinning golden face peering at his feet. 

He slowly wrapped his clawed fingers around the grip of the lever and firmly pulled the lever making the digital reels of the machine spin with a jingle. The machine stopped and everyone gasped.

“My, lookit you!” Handsome Jack smacked Pip’s back as the short man stared astonished at the perfectly identical symbols lined up on the screen. “You got the friggin’ Jackpot, my man! Congratulations.”

The fanfare began as the large door opened revealing at last the next area full of colorful slot machines just waiting to be taken by the countless avid gamblers visiting, robots waving and carrying prepared drinks and smokes, and even more statues of Jack watching over the place from almost every corner.

“There you have it folks! The room is all yours!” Handsome Jack stood tall with his chest puffed out and his arms up in the air. “Get on spending, now GO, GO, GO!” 

The guests didn’t skip a beat to start stumbling and pushing eachother on their way through the gate, leaving the Hyperion CEO and his henchman by themselves watching from behind.

“That had to be rigged…” Pip grumbled under his breath “There’s no way...”

“Oh, don’t try to be humble here, pumpkin. The machine worked as it should” Jack chuckled. ”I was actually hoping for you to get the Loaders. That would’ve been fun to watch.”

Pip frowned. “Do I even wanna know?”

“Just lighten up and enjoy the event, will you? HEY! Ya hungry? I sure am, let’s go get a drink. Maybe some sushi.” Jack pulled Pip close to him again with his arm around his shoulders, almost squishing the poor man’s face to his chest, making him squirm.

The red-haired man stopped struggling and thought for a second. “Guess sushi doesn’t sound too bad…” He mumbled.


End file.
